their lost girl

hide and seek

LEOS POV

It had been a long time since the air felt this heavy, a long time since the house was this quiet since the hallways were this lifeless and cold. Our home that was once laid on a foundation of stone was now cracking as the glue to us was gone; she was gone, now all that was left was the empty shell of a once vibrant home. The empty shell of all of us, like ghosts that trailed the hallways.

I threw my head back as I looked up to the night sky, the dark inky sky was empty. The stars that once decorated the sky were gone into the abyss leaving behind perpetual darkness. I sighed deeply as I rested my head in my hands as my mind began to wonder. I hoped that wherever Violet was that the stars were watching over her.

It had been two days since she left, 48 hours and everything had fallen to shit. My mind was flooded with the memories of that very morning which had been etched in my mind...

"What do you mean she jumped from your window?" My father bellowed as he paced down the kitchen.

"Why was she there in the first place?" Tobias questioned as he glared at Nico. Nico rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away.

"I mean she's gone, my men are searching for her but she ran into the forest, the canopy is too thick for helicopters to see her" Malik replied, his voice breaking softly as he spoke. He was scared not of my father but scared for Violet.

"Why would she run?" Nico asked

"What did you do to her you son of a –" Lucien stepped towards Malik but my father glared at him which silenced Lucien promptly.

"Nothing" Malik said as he stared daggers at Lucien "she was hurt I went to get something for her to eat and then she was gone"

My Fathers eyes widened as fear spread across his face, the familiar sound of gunshots began to echo around the house as we all got down to the floor.

"Capo there's an intruder, three men are dead." Michaelo yelled from down the hall, his voice echoing between my ears.

Malik instantly began running to the source of the noise with his gun drawn, as my father yelled for him to stop but it was no use. The gunshot stopped as I heard Malik's engine start followed by the reviving of another car. Within the chaos my father and Tobias were barking orders, sending teams out to the forest to search for Violet.

I shook my head softly trying to take myself out of that moment as I squeezed my eyes shut. At first we all thought something happened in the forest, maybe she was taken but the footage from in town showed her getting onto a bus going to Germany, but from there we lost her. No facial recognition could pick up her face. It was like she disappeared. My father had been gone since that morning, same as Tobias and Victor. All I know is they haven't stopped searching.

"Oh fuck" i hear Nicos voice from the left as i heard a loud thud.

"Nico?" I called out as I stood up from my spot on the roof.

"Hey little bro" he slurs as he stumbles towards me, I reach my hand out to help stabilise him as he sits down. His breath reeking of alcohol and cigarettes, I rolled my eyes and sat back down.

"Are you seriously drunk?" I hissed as he pulled a cigarette that was tucked behind his ear.

"Maybe" he responds as he lights the cigarette.

"You are fucking unbelievable - your little sister is gone so you decided to get drunk" I scoff as i instinctively scrunched my fists.

"Dont you think i fucking know that?" Nico replies suddenly sounding sober as he pulls the cigarette away from his lips.

"I have been doing more than you that's for sure" Nico states as he looks down at his watch.

"You probably don't remember it but Violet- she was always good at hiding. When you two were younger we would play hide and seek for hours; I'd find you in 2 minutes but she always knew the best places to hide, she always knew how to disappear" Nico eyes grow glassy as his voice begins to break.

"You think she is hiding?" I asked as my eyes grew wide.

"I know she is hiding but i don't know who she is hiding from" Nico replied as he threw the cigarette down and stepped on it.

"Why wouldn't she tell us?" I questioned my eyes looking at the night sky.

"To protect us," Nico replied, looking down at his watch again.

"Come on," Nico said motioned for me to follow him as he walked towards his window and climbed back inside.

We silently searched through our fathers office trying to find any notes,photos or security footage they had found. My father was keeping it all very quiet, not telling the rest of us any updates about what was happening. So Nico had been breaking into his office trying to figure out what they know so far but he hadn't found much, he couldn't open the computer file.

"I found the security footage" Nico whispered as he continued clicking on the computer's keyboard, I rushed over and looked at the screen.

It was video footage of Violet standing across from the house, her head peeking out until she brought her phone to her ear. Her hand trembling as the gunman pulls up at our house. The phone call ends and she sprints back into the forest.

The footage cuts off.

Nico clicks on the mouse and the next video plays.

Violet was in town when the sun was up so we could see her better in the footage. She stood in front of the ATM desperately clicking away as she continued trembling. Her face flushed and her cheeks tear stained, her clothes dirty along with scratches all along her face. We watch as she walks over to the bus and glances over her shoulder at the town, her eyes flutter as they fill with tears before she hesitantly drags herself onto the bus.

"She didn't want to go" Nico mumbles as he continues looking through the computer.

"Whoever was on the phone they must have threatened her, it must have been somebody very powerful for her to be that terrified" I whispered as I began flicking through the pieces of paper which covered the desk. As I began digging through the pieces of paper, one stood out to me. My eyes darted across the paper as they grew wide, my blood now running cold.

Dear Father,

I am leaving, you won't hear from me again, none of you will. Don't try to look for me because I will already be far away. I have considered this for a while but now I must go.

Your lifestyle, your business it's what killed my mother; you are the reason she is dead and I won't let your lifestyle kill me too. I won't die how my mother died.

If you truly love me then dont search for me, don't look for me.

Goodbye,

Violet

"Nico?" I whispered as I placed the piece of paper down in front of him. He briefly looks down at the piece of paper and then continues looking through the computer.

"You didn't even read it." I mumble as Nico's expression remains unchanged.

"You already knew.." I state as Nico sighs deeply.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask my voice to begin to grow louder.

"Because i knew Violet didn't write that letter"

"Why wouldn't you tell me Nico? Why are you acting like Dad keeping secrets" my loud voice breaking as i step towards Nico.

"To protect you Leo, whether you like it or not you are my fratellino (little brother) , i don't want to see you hurt" Nico looks to the ground as his voice grows softer, barely above a whisper.

"What the hell are you two doing in here?" my Father calmly asked, his voice filled with authority and a hint of sadness. He glares towards us both as Nico stands up from behind the computer.